Appointments

With a Doctor:    For routine consultations we will endeavour to offer patients an appointment within two working days of the request.    For medically urgent requests, we will offer an appointment on the same day.

With a Practice Nurse:    For routine appointments we will offer an appointment within two working days.

Waiting Times

• Surgeries will normally start on time.
• We expect patients to be seen within twenty minutes of their appointment time, and in the event of a delay we will offer an explanation.
• When a doctor is called away on an emergency we will inform the patients and give them an opportunity to book an alternative appointment, or if preferred, to be seen by another doctor.

Does your child need to see a GP?

If your child is poorly we will always see your child or speak with you on the same day.

Un-well Children - Urgent Appointments

The practice offers appointments on the same day for un-well children under 12.

It is always better to ring the Surgery for advice and appointments as early in the day as possible. Some minor conditions can be managed with advice from the GP over the telephone or by seeking advice from the local pharmacist.

*Please only attend A&E with your child in the event of a serious illness or accident*

Telephone Advice

If you need to speak to a doctor, nurse practitioner or nurse in the practice, but you feel that a face to face consultation is not needed, you can book a telephone consultation.

If you need to speak to a doctor, nurse practitioner or nurse in the practice, but you feel that a face to face consultation is not needed, you can book a telephone consultation.

Acute Telephone Appointments

These appointments can be booked if you want to speak to a doctor/nurse within 24 hours. You will not be able to specify who you speak to. The doctors/nurse practitioner will rotate to cover this surgery.

Routine Telephone Appointments

These appointments can be booked if you wish to speak a specific doctor/nurse. You will be offered the next available appointment or can arrange a suitable date and time with the receptionist. These appointments can be booked 2 weeks in advance.

Referrals

Urgent referrals to other health and social care agencies will be made within one working day of the patient consultation. Where requested, our GPs will refer you to a private health provider.

We will normally process non-urgent referrals within five working days of the patient consultation or the doctor's decision to refer.

Cancellations

If you cannot attend an appointment for any reason please inform us as soon as possible in order for us to give the slot to someone else.

Home Visits

If possible please try to telephone reception before 10:00 if you require a home visit.

You may only request a home visit if you are housebound or are too ill to visit the practice. Your GP will only visit you at home if they think that your medical condition requires it and will also decide how urgently a visit is needed.

You can be visited at home by a community nurse if you are referred by your GP. You should also be visited at home by a health visitor if you have recently had a baby or if you are newly registered with a GP and have a child under five years.

Test Results

When a doctor or nurse arranges for a test to be taken the patient will be informed how to obtain the result.

Please telephone after 1pm for test results.

Transport to Hospital Appointments

Requests for ambulance transport should go through the Referral and Booking Management Service (RBMS). A telephone triage service will assess you to ensure you fulfil the criteria for ambulance transport. Call 01204 462888 to arrange this.

To access local bus timetables please access the Lancashire County Council website here.

Sick Notes

All employees should be able to "self-certify" themselves as too sick to for work for the first seven days of illness. Forms for self-certification can be obtained from your employer or downloaded from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) website (http://dwp.gov.uk/)

Following this period a doctor`s note is required. Such requests for sick notes should be made during morning surgery. In certain circumstances (e.g. where a patient has just been discharged from hospital after an operation) notes can be issued without the patient being seen by the doctor but this is not usually the case.